TRUTH OR DARE

What is it about November? And about sequels?

There are sunny skies over Whispering Springs, Arizona, yet everyone’s unhappy. Even though Zoe Truax is psychic, she can’t figure out why her handsome new hubby, p.i. Ethan Truax, has the blues. Oh—his brother was murdered in November. Right. Just when Zoe was thinking that she, an escapee from a sinister loony bin, and he, a three-time loser at wedded bliss, might make a go of their hasty marriage, everything is going haywire. They’re remodeling Nightwinds, his desert house, and roughing it in a nearby cheesebox apartment complex run by insanely perky manager Robyn, who’s a stickler for the rules—and really getting on Zoe’s nerves. Ethan, meantime, can’t shake his bleak, edgy mood. Lots of edgy sex does seem to help, thank you, but daily vitamins, organic muesli, and intimate chats don’t seem to help. Zoe’s psychic abilities, however, still work when it comes to interior decorating. She just might land a lucrative contract to decorate the house of wealthy meditation guru Tabitha Pine, but there’s competition: glamorous, bitchy Lindsey Voyle. On with the plot! Ethan broods, Zoe frets, and someone from the past shows up: Arcadia Ames, Zoe’s fellow patient at Candle Lake Manor. Arcadia had had herself committed to fool her murderous husband Grant, who is still on her trail. But who’s stalking Zoe? Perky manager Robyn, driven batty by a brain tumor? Maybe. What else is going on in Whispering Springs? Well, Mayor Paloma Santana hopes to clear the name of her dead grandmother, who, a humble housekeeper, was accused decades ago of murdering her employer, famous author Walter Kirwan, to inherit his house, though some said his agent did him in. Could valuable unpublished manuscripts lie hidden in that very house? A lackluster showdown between an academic expert on Kirwan and a rare-book dealer awaits. Ethan, playing Nancy Drew in male drag, finds conclusive evidence by using nothing more than a common screwdriver.

Four trite plots for the price of one, from the ever-popular author of Light In Shadows (2002, etc.).